Electric switch.



K. H'HN.

ELECTRIC SWITCH, APPLICATION ILED JAN. 23. T917.

1,280,733. v Patented oen 8,1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Lgf. E@ 2.

ELECTRIC SWITCH,

APPLICATION FILED IAN. 2a. |911.

1.280,733. y Patented Oct. 8, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

K. H'HN.

ELECTRIC SWITCH,

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 23. ISI?.

Patend Oct. 8, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

STATES PATENT oFFIcE.

KARL IIHN, or zUnICII, SWITZERLAND.

To all whom 'z't may concern Be it known thatI, KARL HHN, a citizen ofthe Swiss Confederatiomand residing at Zurich, Switzerland, haveinventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Electric Switches, ofwhiohthefollowing is a speciication.

The present-invention has reference to imv 'provements in electricswitches and relates more particularly to an improved releaslngmechanism for automatic overload switches,

- no voltage circuit breakers, lock switches or like devices. l.

The releaslng device can constructed as a free-wheel re ease coupllngand by reason of its compact arrangement dependent of the manipulationof a switch handle or a hand wheel. Still,vwhen in connection withautomatic trip coils, the electric switch can also be opened and closeddirectly by means of the handle without any necessity of tripping smallcatches or other mechanism and in exactly the same manner as though itwere non-automatic. At the same time, the switch being opened by hand orautomatically, the position of the handle always indicates positivelywhether the switch is opened or closed. Furthermore, upon any abnormalcondition taking place in the circuit t which the electric switch isconnected, the latter, irrespective of the position of the operatinghandle, will open in spite of the handle being retained. Consequentlywith lock switches it would be entirely useless to fix the handle withthe intention of stealing current. All this is also of importance withoverload circuit breakers, when, after the switch has cut outautomatically, it; must be thrown in again, with no possibility ofknowing whether short circuit, the cause of the switching out, is stillexist-- ELECTRIC SWITCH. i

Specification of Letters Patent.

referably be of a slightly tensioned spring, srotated and carried alongtoward a trigger or stop, which latter can' be released by suitablerelays, tri -coils orv other controlling mechanisms. y continuing therotary motion of the driving member, the said spring, which isindependent of the main spring ofthe i :i y Patented oct. 8,' 1918.Application tiled January 23, 1917. Serial No. 144,006. I

switch shaft,- is further tensioned until the.

being rendered inoperative, the releasing member, influenced by itsspring, will` continue to turn 1n the same direction and uncouple thelocking means of the switch, when the main spring willoperate to openthe switch.

With this design of the releasing member a much smaller amount of energyis needed for automatically releasing the switch, than with manyotherdevices known andv consetuently the operating magnet can be extraorlnarily small and compact.

In order to make my invention more readily understood, I will nowdescribe it in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhichy Figure 1l represents a fragmental frontelevation of a lockablemotor switch box, of the type provided with starting position foroperating a three-phase motor with squirrel cage rotor, the hinged doorof the switch box being open and the switch in uncoupled off position;Fig. 2 shows a section on line A-B of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a diagrammaticalrepresentation of the electrical and mechanical connections; Figs. 4 and4a are respectively apartial front and side elevation of the couplingparts at the beginning of the closing operation; Fig. 5 shows thecoupling parts in the intermediate position of the switch and in Fig. 6they are shown in the end position with the current on; Fig. 7represents the switch parts at the beginning of the automatic cut-outoperation. the driving pawl of the driving member just clearing therespective cam portion of the switch plate; Figs. 8-13 show detail-partsto be hereafter fully described; Fig. 14 is another diagram for yaswitch box with freewheel release coupling; Fig. l5 is a fragmentalfront elevation partly in section of a modified construction ofcontracted design; Fig. 16 shows a somewhat modified con-4 struction ofthe driving member; Fig. 17 is a front elevation, partly in section of areleasing device having a somewhat modified construction of the mainoperating shaft,

- Vand Fig. 18 is a side elevation thereof.

l'The driving shaft 1 supports a recessed driving member 2 (Figs. 12 and13) which contains in its recess a coil spring'3, one end of which isfastened at 4 to `said recessed member and the other end at 5to areleasing i' member 6, (Figs. 10 and '11) which latter rotates freelyaround vthe shaft 1.- Spring 3, which normally is under sli htA tension,

tends to rotate the releasing mem r 6in thedirection of the switchin -onmotion.l The driving member is provi ed. with a click or pawl 8, pivotedon the pin17a'nd'4 ressed against the circumference 10 ofthe re easingmember 6 by means lof a spring 9, which pawl acts at the same time as astop for the member 6 in the offv position of the switch (Fi.2). ',-2

Vhen by .means of the switch handle25 the driving shaft 1 and with itthe driving member 2 are turned in the direction of the switching-onmotion, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4, the releasing member 6,'influencedby ,spring 3, follows, until its nose 11 contacts with thetrigger 12 (Fig. 4).

The pawl 8*slidesalong the cam portion 10 of the releasing member 6 and,coperat- .ing with the step 13 of the switch member 15 which is fixed onthe switch shaft 14, takes the switch member along and in conse-Vq'uence operates vthe switch proper.

Influenced by the draw-s rin 16 (Fig. a pin or roller member 117), wichextends laterally from the lower'- endof a double armed lever 1 9,fulcrumed .at. 18, and extends into the domain of the members 2, 15

' and 6, leaves the extremity 420 of the switch member and coperateswith the 'circumferential face- 21 of the member 2. The driving member 2is provided with azcam hollow 22, which serves to arrest the member 2 atthe very moment (Fig. 5) in which the switch 31 couples the startingcontacts 24 with the mains (Fig. .3). AWhen the motor has obtained itsnormal number `of revolutions and the high starting current has ac-`oordingly decreased, the member 17, f (Fig.

i 5) by al sharp jerk of the switch handle 25 is forced out of the rest22 and the switch is brought into the normal on position, whereby thetension ofthe springs V23 andI 3 is increased. Y

TheA switch handle 25 is preferably `provided with anindi'cator or indexas at 25 (Fig. 1)- to facilitate control of the switch y operation.

eis.

In case the switching-on operation should not have been carried throughcompletely, the switch handle 25, influenced by the spring 23 returns tothe off position, when released. In order to revent the switch from beinturned too y ar, the switch box is provide with a strong sto 26 whichcooperates in the respective en position with the rise 28 of themutilated circular step 27 on the driving member 2.

When, after theswitch has been properl thrown, the handle is set free,the parts wi l remain locked in the on position in spite of the actionof the springs 3 and 23, since the member 17 has dropped into a notch 29of the driving member 2 (Figs. 6 and 12) and at the same time has en gedbehind the nose 30 of the switch cam isk 15.

By turnin back the handle 25, the switch can readily be opened, themember 17 then bein forced out of the notch 29 in the `drivlng member 2,which movement in turn causesY the member 17 to clear the nose 30 ofthecam disk 15.

In order to obtain also sudden interrup- -tion,.even when switching-0H bhand, the

switch handle has aoertain bac -lash relative to the switch.

The switching-off movement of the drivmember 2 is limited by the stop 26and the fiat 2 7. of the rim 27. Y

The switching-on and switching-oli' ,movements of the switching member15 are limited by a stop 38 extending from and engagin with the bracket38, fixed onto the inside 'o the box-wall.

The automatic releasing operation is the following:

l On overload the pin 33 of the instantaneousl acting overload relay 32which latter as s own in Fig. Bis dead if switch 31 is opened, lifts thelever 34 fixed on the shaft -35 common to the ordinary overload relay 32Aand to the slow-acting'overload relay or time limitgrelay 41. `Withthis shaft 35 isV connected a system of levers 36, theoute one of whichis fulcrumed at 37 and its outer end linked to a trigger device12, recirocatin ly guided in guide' checks 38. pon the s aft 35 beingrotated bythe action o f the pin 33, the tri ger 12 is slid back and therebydisconnecte from the ndse 11 of -the member 6.

The friction between the nose 11 and th trigger 12 is negligible, sincethe nose 11 is iniuenced by the weak spring 3 only, while the strongpressure exerted by the spring`23 is taken up b the pivot 18 of lever 19(Fig. 6), when t e switch is in the switched-on position.

' The thus freed releasing member 6 under the influence of the s ring 3snaps around on direction disengages it from the step 13 of the switchmember. The driving member 2 together with the shaft 1 then return intothe off position, as the weight of the handle causes them tooverbalance.

The switch handle 25 could also be carried back by means of a spring,one end of which than by employing wouldhave to be secured to astationary art and the other end to vthe driving memr 2. The release ofthe trigger 12, obviously can also be brought about in other ways themaximum current, for instance by using for this purpose the minimumcurrent, reversecurrent, no-voltage, or also by employing. suitablereg-y ulating means, such as current meters, voltage meters, powermeters, frequency meters,

pressure meters, speed meters heat meters, clokworks, counters, and thelike. The trigger 12 may also be simultaneously inuenced to uncouple.the members 2 an balance-weight disengages the locking can be dispensedwith.

-prising an ,instantaneously actin by different rela s or regulatingmeans.

A simplecom ination of this kindcomoverload relay 32 and an overloadrelay of inverse delayed action 41 is re resented diagrammatilcally by-Fig. 3, w ere an ammeter is shown connected in series with the timelimit means, the cam portion 39 on the member 6 The releasing member 6needs not necessarily'be arranged between the driving member 2 and theswitch member 15. According to the modification shown in Fig. 17, thedrivin shaft furnished with a handle and theswitch shaft are madeintegral, in -which case the device also operates automatically by theaid of relays but it will not, as above described, operate by itself onthe handle bein held fast.

St1ll, in order to obtain hand-release in this combination by simplyturning the switch handle 25 backward, this can be done by fixing tooth30 instead of to driving member 2, onto an additional disk member 45journaled loosely onthe shaft 14 (Figs. 17 and 18). On the drivingvmember 2, pro` vided with a notch 29, a pin 46 is fastened, acting asastop for the member 45 which is l influenced by a spring 47 placedbetween the members 45 and 2.

When from the off position (Fig. 18) the driving member 2 is turned incounterclockwise direction, the pin 46 takes along the member 45 untilthe switch is in its on position and fixed therein by the tooth 30Aguided in a bracket-44 exten and the locking member 17. In this casethe latter also catches into the notch 29 of the member 2. When from theon position the driving member 2 is turned in clockwise direction, thetooth 30 of the member 45 remains behind the pin 17 until the latter isforced aside by the notch 29.

Another object of my invention is to make the operations of the switchand that of the door of the switch box interde- -pendent, and apreferred'form of such construction is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In thisarrangement the automatic latch 42 effectively prevents carelessswitching-on'with open door, by dropping into the notch 29 of thedrivingmember 2, while on the other hand even a small displacement ofthe switch handle is suilicient to revent the opening of the door of'Athe switc box, the path of the latch 43 then being obstructed by the rim27 of the driving member 2..

In order to reduce as much as possible the dimensions of the switch box,the releasing device may also be designed according to Fig. 15,where thedriving member 2' and thehandle shaft 1 are shown as integral, and therespective end of the switch shaft 14 operatively extending into themember 2, when the bracket38 (Figs. 1 and 2) can be dispensed with, thetrig er 12 being switch box wall.

ing from the Since there is, obviously, no use for the cam hollow 22 inswitches without starting position, such-as last described withreference to Figs. 14 and 15, their driving member 2 (Fig. 16) will nothave such hollow 22.

It is evident that the invention is not limited tothe constructionaldetails described, above, as these may be considerably varied withoutexceeding the scope of the invention. l

What I- claim is:

1. In an automatic electrical switch, in combination, a switch shaft, amain spring controlling said shaft, a driving member, a snap releasingmember rotatably arranged alongside of said driving member, a normallyslightly tensioned spring connected to the driving member and to thereleasing member for controlling said releasing member, a triggeradapted to be readily thrown out of function and to hold back saidreleasing member during the switching-on operation, said second spring,independently of said main shaft spring, tightening on operation of saidreleasing member, means for locking the switch shaft and the drivingvmember in the switching-on position, said tact between said trigger answitching-*off position, means for limiting the l switching-on motionand the'switchmg-out motion of the driving member and the switch, andmeans for causing operative consaid releasing member uponr the return ofsaid driving member into the switching-oil` position.

2. In an automatic electrical switchn in combination, a switch shaft, amain spring controlling said shaft, a driving membera snap releasingmember rotatabl on said switch shaft alongsideo said drivingmember andconcentrlcally therewith, a normally slightly tensioned s ri connectedvto the driving member an to t e releasing member for 4controlling saidreleasing' member, a trigger, adapted to be readily thrown outoffunction .and to hold bac lsaid releasing member during theswitching-4 on operation, said second spring, indepen ently of said mainshaft spring, tightening on operation of said releasing member, meansfor locking the switch shaft and the driving member in the switching-onposltion, said releasing member adapted to continue its rotar movementin the switchingspring to force the switc combination, a switch' shaft,a main spring controlling said shaft, Ta switch member rigidly fixed tosaid shaft, a'driving member, a driving shaft, a snap releasing memberrotatably arranged on one of the operating shafts, a normally. slightlytensioned spring, connected to the driving member and to the releasinmember for controlling said releasing mem er, a trigger adapted to bereadily thrown out of function and to hold back said releasing memberduring the sWitching-onoperation, said second spring, independently ofsaid main shaft spring, tightening on operation of said releasingmember, means on said driving member adapted to take said switch memberalong when the driving member is moved in the direction of theswitching-on motion, means for locking said switch member and saiddriving member in the switching-on position, said releasing memberadapted to continue its rotary movement in the direction of theswitching-on motionwhen said tri ger is thrown out of cooperation withsaid arranged into the switchl releasing memberl to force the lock-Aing-o position'in spite ofthe driving meming means out of the lockingposition ber being retained, means for limiting the v switching-onmotion and the switching-out motion of the ldriving membe'r and theswitch, means in connection with the driving `member for causingoperative contact between said trigger and said releasing member u ponthe return of said driving member into lts switching-off position, andmeans to uncouple said locking means by hand from the locked position.

4. In an automatic electrical switch lin i combination, a switch shaft,a main spring controlling said shaft, a switch member rigidly fixed tosaid shaft, a drivingmember, a driving shaft, a snap releasing mem--4ber rotatably arranged .on one ofthe operating shafts, a normallyslightly tensioned spring connected to the driving member and to thereleasing member for controlling'said releasing member, atrigger adaptedto be .readily thrown out of function and to hold back said releasiswitching-on operat1on,'said second spring, independently of saidmainshaft spring, tightening on operation of said releasing member,means on said driving member adapted to take said switch memb'er alongwhen the driving member is moved in the direction of the sw itching-onmotion, means member during 'the' ico for locking said switch member andsaiddriving member in the switching-on'position, said.releasing memberadapted tocontinue its rotary movement in the direction of theswitching-on motion when said trigger is thrown out of coperation withsaid releasing. member, means to force the locking means out of thelocking positionand the switch member to disconnect from the drivingmember by means of said spring, for the purpose of enabling the mainshaft spring to force the switch in the switching-on' position in spiteof the drivinghmember belng retained, means for limitingt e switching-onmotion and the sw itching-out motion of the driving member and theswitch, means in connection with the driving member for causingoperative contact between said trigger and said releasing member uponthe return of said driving member into its switching-off position, meansfor uncoupling the locking means also by hand from its locked positionby simply turning back the driving iot ately returning the drivingmemberto ether with'the sw itch handle into the marke off position incase the switching-on movement controlling said shaft, a switch memberrigidly fixed to said shaft, a driving member, a driving shaft, a snapreleasing member rotatably arranged on one of the operating lro shafts,a normally slightly tensioned spring connected tothe driving member andto the releasing member for controlling said releasing member,controlling devices and a trigger, the latter retaining said releasingmember during the switching-on operation, lever means operativelyconnected to said controlling devices and-to vsaid trigger, said secondspring, independently of said main shaft spring, tightening on operationof said releasing member, means on said driving member adapted to takesaid switch member along when the driving member is,moved in thedirection of the switching-on motion, means for locking saidswitchmember Aand said driving-'member in the sw itching-on position,said releasing member,` adapted to continue its rotary movement in thedirection of the switching-on motion when said trigger is thrown out ofcoperation with said releasing member' by said controlling devices,means to force the locking means out of the locking position and theswitch member to disconnect from the driving-member by means of saidspring, for the purpose of enabling the main shaft spring to force theswitch into the switching-off position 1n spite of the driving memberbeing retained, means for limiting the switching-on motion and theswitching-out motion of the driving member and the switch, means inconnection .t

with the driving member for causing operative contact between saidtrigger and said releasing member upon the return of said driving memberinto its switching-oli` position, .means for uncoupling the lockingmeans also by hand from their locked position by simply turning back thedriving member, a switch box housing all said parts a'switch handleoutside said switch box and operatively connected to said incloseddriving member with a predetermined back-lash relative to the switch,for the purpose of obtaining momentary interruption of the current bysimply throwing back said handle, means for immediately returning thedriving member together with. the switch handle 'into the marked offposition, in case the switching-on movement has not been carried outcompletely and the handle has been let go, and means for making the saidswitch and the switch box door interdependent in their operation.

Intestimony .whereo` I aiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

KARL HHN.

Witnesses:

CARL GUBLER, R. SGHonNnL-n.

